Bloody Hell Fire indeed. I'd just like to start by telling you, I love this guy - he gave me 'How Come It Never Rains', 'Those Days Are Gone', 'Satellite Kid', 'I Don't Want You To Go' and on and on the list could go. Even in the dark days of the drum machine I managed to find some unpolished jems and put aside the bad production and preferred to dwell on the songwriting rather than the end result. What is it they say about form being temporary and class being permanent? That's Tyla that is see.

So where are we then? Ah, it's the arris end of 2009 and Mr T delivers a double album crammed full of banging tunes. Gone are those drum machines (thank fuck for that I hear you cry) and although not the greatest sounding record you'll hear this year, some of the songs on offer happen to be up there with the best he's ever written and his voice has matured into a fine top shelf tipple. Honestly? The best he's written, I hear you query?

 
Well, maybe not yet but potentially. Some of these songs have been on my stereo ever since I heard the demos many months ago now. '111' , 'Alright', 'Bess' and tracks that first saw the light of day on earlier albums like  'XIII Shades Of Black' (which I loved), 'All Of Them Great' which tells the tale of dead rockers and poets; morose for sure, thought provoking and poignant. His last few releases have been a real return to form for the Iliad of Wolverhampton;  'In Life, In Love, In Dreams' was a cracker and had some beautiful 'Soft Songs For Tough Guys' and this bugger continues the rich vein of form. 

Ok, we're missing the delights that were Jo Dog's string bending, Bam's eccentric swing drumming and the distinctive thump of Mr James's bass but hey, let's look forward and not back. The ringleader is intact and everytime there is a Tyla release I raise a glass and smile to a wandering minstrel with 101 tales to tell and a voice that is like all the best rock 'n' roll stories ever written. 

Twenty three tracks tracks of heartbreak, death, mystery, love and life. I don't really know where to start with a favourite track because there are so many highlights. 'Killing Machine', '111' and 'Bloody Hell Fire' all rock out but the pick of the bunch would possibly be 'Rails' - it's a great riff driven by a subtle keyboard run and Mr T tells the tail of falling off the rails in one of his best vocal performances for many a year....simply sumptuous.

What about the ballad mongers, soft songs for tough guys, I hear you ask? Of course they're here en masse and, to be fair, you won't hear a better song all year than 'To Hell' -  in fact, I would simply recommend you go out and pick up a copy pronto. Ferkin' 'ell people, it's only about £8 as well for two bloody discs crammed full of great songs. Honestly, it's that good.

Before I leave this review I suggest putting 'Bess' on loudly, kicking back with a large glass of something and watch your blues and woes drift off into the ether. Tyla you old bugger, keep on rockin', I fuckin' love it, fella. The world would be a far worse place without your music, that's for sure. Finally, I almost filled my well worn snakeskin booties with wee wee when the refrain of 'To Hell' had long ended and your wonderful  poem came on (I'll not spoil it folks but, keep listening, you'll enjoy it).

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